Licensee's Prior Common Law Use Established Priority For "SNORE MD" Mark

The Board sustained an opposition to registration of SNORE DOCTOR for "nasal dilators; therapeutic mouthpieces for the prevention of snoring" [DOCTOR disclaimed], finding confusion likely with Opposer James S. Fallon's common law mark SNORE^MD for a therapeutic mouthguard to be worn over the teeth to reduce the effects of snoring. Opposer Fallon licensed the mark to his company, Apnea Sciences Corporation, and was entitled to rely on the corporation's use of the mark to establish his "standing" and to prove priority. From there, the likelihood of confusion analysis was a bit of a snoozer. James S. Fallon v. Brown Innovation, LLC, Opposition No. 91252488 (October 30, 2021) [not precedential] (Opinion by Judge Cynthia C. Lynch).